I have been living with my parents now for the past 2 months, (if you are curious to know why then, click here - http://www.youtube.com/sammutimer).
In short – I came to the Uk on holidays to see my family, broke my leg and now have to stay for the next 3 months until my cast comes off. It’s cold, grey and I miss my husband, friends and business colleagues immensely. I must say it has been one of the most challenging times of my life, and at the same time a fantastic learning opportunity! Thank you mum and thank you broken leg! 
Why am I writing this post and what’s it got to do with business?
I usually tend to write more specifically about the ways business owners can utilise Web 2.0 and Social media to enhance their business, yet today I felt this had to be expressed.
I believe we can all take something from a poorly wrapped gift and turn it into an opportunity. Business and pleasure. The more we focus on what we can do, the easier life seems to flow and the more opportunities seem to pop up.
Let’s use my dear mother as an example to demonstrate my point. Mum is in her mid 50’s, runs her own business, yet she’s classed as “old school” in my lingo. Bless her, and quite frankly she is happy about that……… so was I, until she became increasingly more interested in myInternet Marketing Business.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love my mum taking an interest in what I do, yet after many challenging moments of explaining this to her (in my calm Sammy tones), can you imagine my reaction when I received this response:
“I still don’t understand”, “that doesn’t make sense”, “why would people want to waste their time on the internet when they can speak face to face”
Valid questions, yet then it goes further:
”Facebook for business-now that’s a waste of time” “Twitter- how sad”, “why would people want to see what you are doing?”…..”Are you making money from this?” “Why are you sharing all your tips with other people?” “You are giving so much out, what are you getting back?” “Do you have to link in with them all the time?” blah blah blah!
(Many of these questions are great, now I look back, and I will endeavour to answer them in different posts, yet for today I want to stick to my point).
Now, from these responses I could feel my heart rate bolt up to it’s MAX and then an intense, impatient frown sprung onto my face. I was in defence mode – BEWARE! Mum was REALLY pushing my buttons, and that evening, boy did I let her know!
After calming down (a few days later):-) I reflected back on our heated discussion.
Wow, of course mum was confused, I wasn’t explaining it clearly and simply to her…instead I was going into my own comfortable “jargon talk” and expecting her to just get it! How could she not? It was clear as day to me!
This situation reminds me of a statement a friend said to me once, and it’s so true – “the response you receive is down to the way you have communicated your message”
This time spend with mum was a huge learning curve for me, and I know it will lead to an even more flexible and diverse Sam Mutimer. I also trust that the service we provide has just jumped up to a whole new level.
Sometimes I believe we all get caught up in what we think is right. “I’m fine, it’s all of them that have the problems”…..”They just don’t get it”!!!Pleh!
I believe in life, that it’s great at times to just step back and put yourself in the shoes of the other person. I believe this is crucial in business and even more so when you are running your business online.
Here are a few pointers I had to refresh myself with.
- Who is your target?
- Who are they more specifically?
- Where do they hang out?
- What terms do they use?
- How old are they?
- What do they need and want from me?
- What’s in it for them?
- How can I communicate this through a computer or mobile phone screen?
The more we can define our target market and communicate to them using their language, the more successful our businesses will be. Why? Because when we use the right words, pictures, videos, sounds, terms then our audience feels like we are talking straight to them. This usually leads to good rapport then eventually trust-creating lead generation and sales.
So wrapping up, I want to thank my mum for her probing questions and the interest she has taken in me and my business. I am now more aware of the words I choose to use and the way I say them, taking into consideration the audience/person I am talking with.
It’s taken me back to basics and refreshed me, and that’s a good thing. I trust it has added value to you too!
Keep it simple!
